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REMINISCENSES 
OF SALEM 



RANDOLPH 



WITH THE COMPl-IMENTS OF 

FRANKLIN FITZ RANDOLPH 




ISAAC FITZ RANDOLPH 



REMINISCENCES OF SALEM 

AND ITS SURROUNDINGS 

IN PIONEER DAYS 



BY ISAAC FITZ RANDOLPH 



KDITED WITH ANNOTATIONS 

BY CORLISS FITZ RANDOLPH 



PUBLISHED BY FRANKLIN FITZ RANDOLPH 

NEW MILTON, WEST VIRGINIA 
1919 






PUBLISHER'S NOTE 

Isaac Fitz Randolph, author of this sketch, young- 
est son of Jonathan Fitz Randolph, and grandson of 
Samuel Fitz Randolph the founder of Salem, West 
Virginia, was born at Salem (then New Salem, Vir- 
ginia), June 3, 1821. 

Some time after his father's death in 1853, he re- 
moved with his family to Louisville, Kentucky, where 
he made his home for the remainder of his life. In 
the earl}- summer of 1905, while on a visit to the 
scenes of his early life, he WTOte these reminiscences, 
and they were first published at that time in the Salem 
Express, of June 8, 1905. While on this visit, he be- 
came ill and returned to his home in Louisville, where 
he died, July 2y, 1905. 

These Reminiscences are reprinted in this form, by 
his nephew, for the perusal of any who may be in- 
terested in the early history of Salem, and as a tri- 
bute to the memory of the author. 

Franklin Fitz Randolph. 

Kczv Milton, W. Va., 
August I, Jpip. 



JUL « IS20 



REMINISCENCES OF SALEM 

BY ISAAC FITZ RANDOLPH 

THE first settlement of what is now Salem, 
Harrison County, West Virginia, was made 
before there was peace with the Indians. 
A colony of about forty families came from Sa- 
lem, New Jersey.* These families consisted of 
Lippincotts, Maxsons, Babcocks, Plumers, Ran- 
dolphs and Davises. William seemed to be a 
very common name among them but it was al- 
ways Billy; such for instance as "Bottom Billy," 
"Greenbrier Billy," and "Jarsey Billy" of the 
old settlers. In the next generation there were 
"Flint Billy," "Buckeye Billy," "Rock Run 
Billy," and "Little Billy." All these I have 
seen, and was personally acquainted with the most 
of them. 

The first thing these early settlers did was to 
build a blockhouse for protection against the In- 
dians. This was built on the high plat of ground 
between the turnpike and railroad, as they now 
are, east of the railroad crossing toward Green- 
brier. A town was laid out and called New Sa- 
lem, after the place from which they came.t 
Each family built a cabin in the town around the 



*These families came from near what is now Asbury 
Park, New Jersey, and from near Piscataway, New Jersey, 
instead of from Salem, New Jersey. Editor. 

fThe accuracy of this statement may fairly be ques- 
tioned; but it is somewhat likely that New Salem, Virginia, 
now Salem, West V^irginia, was named for Salem, New 
Jersey. Editor. 



blockhouse and took up a farm in one of the sur- 
rounding valleys, some of which were several 
miles away. The next thing they did was to clear 
a piece of land for a crop. They went in com- 
panies to do their Avork. Some stood with guns 
in their hands watching for Indians while the 
others cleared the ground, planted and tended the 
crops. 

They built a two-story log church with a gal- 
lery and a high box-pulpit. A chimney was 
built in the middle with a lire place on each side 
and the men and women sat apart, one sex in 
each end of the house. Later the chimney was 
torn down and a stove put in. The church stood 
where the Seventh Day Baptist Church now is. 
At first they had logs, split in half, for seats, and 
when they went to church some stood with guns 
and guarded the worshipers from the Indians. 
When the crops were raised they had no mills to 
grind their grain, but they made hand-mills which 
answered for a time. My father's hand-mill was 
sold at the sale after his death in 1853. After 
several years Bottom Billy Davis built a horse- 
mill down on what is now known as the Horner 
Farm. This mill was a great labor-saving con- 
venience. 

After peace was made with the Indians, it was 
ascertained that they had nothing against the col- 
ony from New Jersey; and to avoid disturbance, 
a party of them coming up Tenmiic Creek had 
turned out of their direct course which was 
through Salem, and had crossed over onto Hall's 
Run through Brandv Gap. Mv father being an 
Indian scout, when he learned that these Indians 



were in the neighborhood, went with a body of 
men to look for them. They went as far as the 
Ohio River and saw that the Indians had passed 
peacefully through the country.* 

After peace was declared with the Indians my 
father, no longer needed as a spy, arranged to 
settle down to peaceful home life and built a 
two-story hewn log house on the east bank of 
Jacobs Run just south of the alley that leads to 
the Baptist church. When his house was built, 
he married Mary, the daughter of Greenbrier 
Billy Davis and took her to his new home. He 
lived there the rest of his life and raised nine 
children, six sons and three daughters, and I alone 
still live to tell the story. As the family grew 
large, another house was built back of the first. 
In this house several of his children, including 
myself, lived the first years of our married lives. 
A little later I built the large log-house in which 
Ralph Young lived until it burned three or four 
years ago. 

Wild game, such as deer, bear, turkey, etc., 
was very plentiful in those days. Bears were 
so numerous and fond of pork that hogs could 
not be raised. The bears would go into the hog- 
pens and kill them. But the people retali- 
ated and took bear meat in place of pork. My 
father and two neighbors, being good hunt- 
ers and having good dogs, made it a practice each 
fall for a number of years to kill sixty bears, 

*There is evidence that Jonathan Fitz Randolph, the 
father of Isaac Fitz Randolph, served under "Mad" Anthony 
Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, on the Maumee 
River, AuRUst 20, 1794. Editor. 



twenty to a family. When game became scarce 
around Salem, the hunters would camp out some 
distance from home. Once when they camped 
out on the Hughes River, they treed a large bear. 
One of them shot at it but did not hurt it. The 
bear slid down and was making it rough for the 
dogs. Father tried to shoot the bear, but the 
gun snapped (they had only flint-lock guns then), 
the priming had been lost out of the pan, and 
the bear got close enough to snap him through 
the knee. The beast was finally killed and father 
was taken to the camp where they had to remain 
with him three weeks before he could be taken 
home. The scar remained on his knee the rest 
of his life. The hides of their game were dried, 
made into large rolls and carried on horseback 
over east of the mountains and there traded for 
salt, pot-metal, tinware, etc. 

The people were healthy then, living as they 
did, on "co/n" bread and bear meat, with rye-coffee, 
and sassafras- and dittany-tea. The old ladies 
were mainly their doctors, using native herbs and 
other natural remedies. Their orthodox remedy 
for measles was what they called "sheep-nanny 
tea," which, they said, soon brought out the mea- 
sles, and in a few days the patient was all right. 
The sick were not killed with ice and strong 
drugs, as so many are nowadays. 

Times have changed. My father never wore 
a shoe until he was twelve vears old. He would 
slide on the ice bare-footed. But now a baby 
two months old is out of fashion if seen with bare 
feet. The voung had but little education. Mv fa- 
ther felt this so keenlv that after his first children 



were large enough to go to school and there was 
an opportunity to send them, he attended with 
them. He learned rapidly, became a good read- 
er, wrote a plain, neat hand, and was quick in 
figures. 

We made our own sugar. We had an arch* 
with four kettles in which the sap (we called it 
"sugar-water") was boiled. I remember one 
year we tapped a part of the sugar-trees on Sixth- 
day (Friday), the 7th of March, and gathered 
the sugar-water that day. The next day being 
the Sabbath we gathered no water until after sun- 
down. I then boiled the water until two o'clock 
in the morning. This I did for two weeks every 
night except on Sabbath eve. That was the 
night I went to see my girl. In two weeks 
we made five hundred and twenty-five (525) 
pounds of sugar, some molasses, and a barrel of 
beer. Some may not know how the beer was 
made. We would boil three barrels of sugar- 
water into one. In one kettle we put sassafras, p ^ \^ 
burdock root, and spice brush; into another, a ^ '^ ^ 
gallon of scorched mea{.^ All was then put into ., ^^ > ^^ I 
a barrel and a gallon of yeast was added. 
In twenty-four hours we would have beer that 
was both delicious and healthy; not like the 
tangle-foot beer that they have now which sets 
men so crazy that they get into the lockup, or go 
home and beat the wives and children. 

People dress very differently now from what 

*A rude stone furnace, arched over the top, witli holes 
left in which to place kettles, holding ten to twenty gallons, 
or more, in which the sap was boiled for evaporation. Editor. 



they did when I was a little fellow. Then the 
men wore leather pants, a blue hunting-shirt with 
a belt around the waist and a large cape on the 
shoulders, all nicely trimmed with fringe. The 
little boys and girls wore nothing during week 
days in summer but a tow-and-linen shirt that 
came down a little below the knees. On Sabbath 
the boys had a home-made linen shirt, tow-and- 
linen pants, a calico jacket, a pair of moccasins and 
a coonskin cap. Then we were dressed for church. 
Things are different now. Then it took only 
eight yards of calico to make a lady's dress, and 
it was easily made in one day at home without 
a sewing machine ; now it takes twelve to four- 
teen yards of goods, a dressmaker about a week, 
and several dollars to pay for it. 

My grandfather ("Greenbrier Billy") Davis 
and grandmother lived to be quite old. He was 
for many years afflicted with chilblains. The 
flesh sloughed off of some of his toes and some 
bones were taken out. Grandmother was stout 
and hearty, so that she did the milking, churning, 
and all her house work to the last day of her 
life, and she was particularly faithful in caring 
for her afflicted husband. She told her neighbors 
repeatedly that it would be a great satisfaction 
to her to wait upon grandfather on his death bed 
and then die before he did. For this she prayed. 
One day word came that grandfather was very 
sick. Father and mother went over there and 
found him very low. Grandmother was as well 
AS usual and did her evening work. During the 
night she was taken sick and died at six o'clock in 
the morning, and just three hours later grand- 



father died. I was a small boy then, but I have 
a very vivid recollection of standing by the great 
open grave and of seeing the two coffins let down, 
side by side. Their graves may now be seen only 
a little way above the brick church.* This was 
certainly a very remarkable circumstance, but it 
is true. How many, in these days of easy divorce, 
pray, to the end of life, to close that life in such 
unselfish service of love, faithful to the marriage 
vows? Such prayers are answered. 

One more circumstance I will relate about Sa- 
lem before I pass to more distant scenes. A 
cousin of mine, Jonathan Fitz Randolph, the fa- 
ther of David and Jesse of the present day, lived 
at the foot of the hill as we go to Greenbrier. 
He had seven children, two boys and five girls. 
The scarlet fever, in a very malignant form, be- 
came epidemic, and Jonathan's children were at 
tacked. Father went up one evening to see them 
and came back at midnight. He wakened an 
older brother of mine and told him to go up 
there, for one of the boys, Francis, was dead, 
and others of the children would die. That 
day at four o'clock Francis was buried, and just 
twenty-four hours later, four of his little sisters 
were buried in two coffins in one grave. 

As I started out to tell something of the hard- 
ships of the early settlers of Salem and its sur- 
roundings, I will now relate some incidents that 
occurred some distance from Salem. An account 
of some of these was published in a book called 

*The Seventh Day Baptist Church, near the site of the 
original log church, at Salem. Editor. 



Border Warfare * written by a Mr. Withers and 
printed in Clarksburg. A copy of the book is 
still in possession of some of my relatives in Sa- 
lem, but I relate them from memory only, so 
deep were the impressions they made upon my 
youthful mind. 

A family by the name of Tygart lived on the 
Valley River above Grafton. Mr. Tygart had 
a wife and one daughter. They always kept theii* 
axe in the house during the night and the door 
well barred. One night there was a knock at 
the door, and Mr. Tygart asked who was there, 
*'A friend," was the reply. Mr. Tygart then 
partly opened the door and was instantly shot, 
and fell; Mrs. Tygart quickly closed the door and 
barred it. There were Indians there and it 
proved to be a gang of eight. They began to 
cut a hole in the door to crawl in. Mrs. Tygart 
placed herself by the door with the axe and let 
one get partly through, then killed and dragged 
him in. Others followed, one by one, and were 
killed in the same way until four were dead. 
Some of those outside then climbed up to come 
down the chimney. Mrs. Tygart told her daugh- 
ter to cut open the feather bed and be ready to 
throw an armful of feathers into the fire. When 
the Indians were part way down the feathers 
were thrown on the fire. Two of the Indians 
were so suffocated with the smoke that they fell 



^Chronicles of Border Warfare, or a History of the 
Settlement by the Whites, of North-Westcrn Virginia; and 
of the Indian Wars and Massacres, in that Section of the 
State: 7t.:itli Reflections. Anecdotes, Etc., by Alexander S. 
Withers. Clarksburjj, Va. Published by Joseph Israel. 
1831. 

10 



down and were quickly killed with the axe. One 
more Indian began to crawl in at the door and 
Mrs. Tygart struck, but did not kill him. He 
crawled away and was captured and killed the 
next day. It was learned that another one, the 
eighth, returned to his people in Ohio. They 
asked him what news; he said: "Bad news, white 
woman fight like debble wid an axe." Tygarts 
Valley River was named from this family.* 

A colony settled on Paw Paw Creek below 
Fairmont, on the west side of the Monongahela 
River. They built a block-house and cleared 
small farms. Among them was an old man by 
the name of Morgan who had a wife and two 
children, a boy and a girl. Mr. Morgan had 
been a great wrestler. One morning he was 
sick and did not go to his farm but went to bed 
and to sleep. When he awoke he asked his 
wife where the children were. She told him 
that they had gone to hoe the vines near the cab- 
in. He said: "They are killed, for I dreamed 
it." She replied: "They are all right. Go to 
sleep and dream some more." So he went to 
sleep and dreamed the same thing again. He 
awoke and said: "I know they are killed, I 
am going to see." He took his gun and started 
for his farm. When he got in sight of it, he 
saw the children at work. They had been to 
the cabin and the girl had left her bonnet and 
apron in it. Mr. Morgan saw two Indians 
come out of the cabin, one with the bonnet on 
his head and the other with the apron tied around 



*Cf. Withers, Border Warfare, pp. 55-59- 
II 



him. They saw Mr. Morgan and started for 
him. As Mr. Morgan drew up his gun, they 
dodged behind the trees. The one with the bon- 
net peeping around a tree exposed his hips and 
was shot, and fell. The other started for Mr. 
Morgan and when he was near him threw his 
hatchet at him. Mr. Morgan dodged it and 
they clinched. Mr. Morgan would throw the 
Indian, but the latter would turn the white man. 
The struggle continued for a long time and Mr. 
Morgan was becoming exhausted; but he watched 
every movement and saw the Indian trying to 
get his butcher knife out, but the apron hindered 
him for a time. When he did get it, Mr. Mor- 
gan grasped the handle with both hands and drew 
the blade through the Indian's hand, cutting it 
severely. Then Mr. Morgan thrust the knife, 
blade and all into the Indian's stomach. Think- 
ing there might be others around he started for 
the block-house. The children, alarmed at the 
firing of the gun had run and given the alarm, 
and the men who responded met Mr. Morgan. 
The crippled Indian had hid, but they found him 
sitting on a log with the knife still in the body 
and parched corn running from the wound in 
his stomach. He begged for his life and called 
them "brudder," but he was killed.* The In- 
dians were both skinned, and their hides tanned, 
and shot-pouches made from them. In 1841, 
I visited a family on Indian Run and was shown 
a lady's side-saddle, the seat of which was made 
of one of these skins. Upon the graves in which 



*Vid. Withers, Border IVarfarc, pp. iq<>-20I. 



the bodies of these Indians were buried grew a 
plum tree, and in 1861, I saw a man who said 
the tree was still living and that he had eaten 
plums from it. 

A man by the name of Christopher Nutter 
started from east of the mountains with a gun 
and grubbing-hoe, some corn and provisions. He 
stopped on Elk Creek a little above Clarksburg 
where he found a very large sycamore tree that 
was hollow. He made this his home,* cleared 
out some ground and planted his corn. He lived 
upon game and ate bread but once until he made 
it: from his own corn. I was well acquainted 
with his son, Andy.t 

The late Christopher Nutter, who lived on 
Turkey Run, the father of Hiram Nutter, the 
present tinman of Salem, was a distant relative 
of this man. I was well acquainted with him. 
We often tussled together at log-rolling, house- 
raisings, and so forth. Times are indeed 
changed.. Such jovial gatherings of sturdy men 
to gratuitously help a neighbor, are called for no 
more. The forests are cleared away; the game 
and the Indians have disappeared. The old 
time friends have gone too. Few indeed remain 
to tell the story of ancient hardships, and these 
few also will soon be silenced. But before I 
go, I am glad to remind the present generation, 
surrounded with all the comforts and advantages 
of modern life, of the obligation it is under to 
the sterling men and ivotnen of the long ago. 

=^For a similar instance, vid. Withers, Border Warfare, 

fFor tlie early histor\- of the Nutter family, rid. Withers, 
Border Warfare, p. 97 et passim. 

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